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Fatal crashes in the first half of 2016 jumped by more than 1,500 when compared to last year, marking the largest spike in 50 years.
From January to June, 17,775 people died in traffic-related incidents, increasing by 10.4 percent from the same period in 2015, a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found. While traffic deaths remain significantly lower than pre-2006 numbers, many aren't satisfied and say there's more to be done to ensure safety on the nation's streets. As the United States continues to lag behind other industrialized nations in traffic safety numbers, some are looking to autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles as an answer to accidental fatalities caused by human error in motor vehicle crashes.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday October 13 2016, @02:40AM
Autonomous cars, even with 24/7 cameras are less a threat to privacy than the existing corporate surveillance state from mobile phones and social networking.
You say that like you think it's true. Where are the 24/7 cameras on a mobile phone or social networking site? On a busy street, you (and everyone else on that street) would be in the field of view of several vehicle cameras at all times. That's a potential for mass surveillance that a mobile phone or social networking site can't match.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Sunday October 16 2016, @05:49AM
Where are the 24/7 cameras on a mobile phone or social networking site?
You say that as if you don't know. Many mobile phones have cameras; leaving the phone on continuously (or nearly so) is commonplace. They also have microphones and can determine their location with satellite navigation, or by surveying nearby Wi-Fi access points. Whoever controls the software on a mobile phone has the capability to capture audio, still photos or video with audio, accompanied by the location. As far as I'm aware, there's no open-source operating system for the iPhone or for Microsoft's current phones. Although there's an open-source version of Android, locked boot loaders are commonplace on Android phones. For these reasons it's technically infeasible, on many phones, for a user to replace the operating system with one for which the source code is publicly available. Without the source code, a proper audit can't be done.
Some phones come with a Facebook app pre-installed. One user asked Facebook:
The app requests permission to access and record audio without my confirmation and to access my camera and take video or pictures without my confirmation. Why do they need this capability? I do not want to grant them this access, however I can not update my app unless I consent.
--
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=10202576185548892 [facebook.com]
An image of the Facebook logo may be included on a non-Facebook Web page, but served directly from Facebook's servers. This is often done with the "Like button" links you may have seen on the Web. When we open such a page, Facebook's servers can log the fact that we opened the page--even if we never intentionally visit Facebook's site.
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/02/10/0345258/french-govt-gives-facebook-3-months-to-stop-tracking-non-user-browsers [slashdot.org]
On a busy street, you (and everyone else on that street) would be in the field of view of several vehicle cameras at all times.
Stationary cameras mounted on buildings and on poles near the roadways can provide somewhat similar views. They can be fitted with a wired or fibre connection, which isn't practical for a car. They can be set up so the geometry and lighting is favourable.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday October 16 2016, @06:25AM
Many mobile phones have cameras; leaving the phone on continuously (or nearly so) is commonplace.
You're already reaching. The car's video would be pointed towards ground level street and far more likely to capture images of people than a phone in someone's pitch black pocket or purse.
They also have microphones and can determine their location with satellite navigation, or by surveying nearby Wi-Fi access points.
And that differs from cars how?
As far as I'm aware, there's no open-source operating system for the iPhone or for Microsoft's current phones.
And as far as you are aware, the same situation exists for operating systems on automobiles.
Stationary cameras mounted on buildings and on poles near the roadways can provide somewhat similar views. They can be fitted with a wired or fibre connection, which isn't practical for a car. They can be set up so the geometry and lighting is favourable.
And their data gather overlaps with cell phones too.
I'm not going to bother with Facebook. Recording every web connection to a Facebook page isn't even in the same league as our concerns about being record by cell phones, car video, and street cameras.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Sunday October 16 2016, @08:41AM
You're already reaching. The car's video would be pointed towards ground level street and far more likely to capture images of people than a phone in someone's pitch black pocket or purse.
Your question was:
Where are the 24/7 cameras on a mobile phone or social networking site?
I didn't give a complete answer. Some phones are equipped with cameras on the front and back. So now that you've shifted the discussion to what those cameras are capable of photographing, I'll mention that the front camera is ideally situated to photograph the face of whoever holds the phone while it's being used. Mobile phones are often taken into buildings and kept close at hand. Automobiles are typically left outdoors or in garages. Indoors, people say and do things that they would hesitate to say or do outdoors, if you catch my drift.
And as far as you are aware, the same situation exists for operating systems on automobiles.
If you mean autonomous cars: when machine learning is used, the training data--not just the code--would be needed for a proper audit. Human-driven and semi-autonomous cars have sensors; some have cameras and some have logging or communication capabilities.
And [stationary cameras'] data gather overlaps with cell phones too.
Partially, yes. All these surveillance techniques are complementary.
I'm not going to bother with Facebook. Recording every web connection to a Facebook page isn't even in the same league as our concerns about being record by cell phones, car video, and street cameras.
As I tried to explain, it's not just about pages that are hosted on Facebook, but about pages outside Facebook that contain an image from Facebook. When we look at a Web page, that's an indication of what we're thinking about. The privacy of our thoughts is sometimes more important than the privacy of our whereabouts; tracking through Web pages, unless we use a proxy or VPN, gives an (inexact) indication of our whereabouts too.
Sometimes people intentionally use their mobiles to take photos, and intentionally upload the photos to social media sites. If someone poses for such a photo, the photo is likely to to be a clear one--more likely, at least, than if the person is being photographed unawares from, say, a passing car. With Facebook specifically, images of a person may be tagged with the person's name--even when the subject is someone who never uses Facebook.